Son of Strange
by Vanillite the Dragonslayer
Summary: Stephen Strange failed to save a patient's life. To make up for it, he swore to ensure her son would be taken care of: A boy by the name of Salazar. This is his story. A tale of sorcery and saucery, of biological mothers and adopted fathers, and of the ties that bind, by blood or by water.
1. Prologue: The Beginning

**Well, here's the Doctor Strange fanfic I promised. The idea came to me in a dream where me in my usual teenage self tagged along with Strange. Have fun!**

**Disclaimer: Marvel belongs to Disney, which means they stay busy, cranking out magic and assembly line whimsy.**

* * *

Prologue: The Beginning

**2014**

**Metro-General Hospital, New York City**

The neurosurgeon paced around his office worriedly. He had calculated the survival rate of his current patient, and her chance of surviving was an abysmally low possibility. There was only one thing to do now: Break the news to her.

So he left his office and entered the patient's room. She was a woman by the name of Sophia, and he hadn't bothered to check her last name.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid your odds of surviving this are one to fourteen million six hundred and five." The doctor said. The patient just sat up and gave a soft reply.

"If you can't save my life..." She said weakly, "At least make sure my son has a good one."

"I'm afraid I cannot promise you that, ma'am." The neurosurgeon replied, "It's just... I can't just be saddled with a kid. I hope you can understand."

"Very well. The choice is yours..." The patient responded, and the doctor sighed.

"Fine, I promise your son will be taken care of, ma'am." Then he left the room to prepare for her surgery.

* * *

A loud long beep was heard in the surgery room.

"Get me social services." The doctor said.

"Uh, what, sir?"

"I am going to make an adoption."

That was the first and only time in his whole career Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange had ever failed to save a patient.

And on his honor he was willing to make up for it.

Whatever it takes.

Even if that meant raising a child to fulfill the patient's final wishes.

* * *

"So, you're leaving, Salazar?" A teenage girl asked her boyfriend three years her junior. The two of them bonded as childhood friends due to their mutual lack of father figures, and that friendship blossomed into love.

"Not really, my beloved Rosalyn." The boy replied, "I'll still be going to school here in Midtown, I'm just gonna move in with Mr. Strange in his penthouse."

"Mr. Strange? As in _the_ Doctor Stephen Strange?" Rosalyn asked, then swooned, "Oh, he's my hero!"

"Well, he's only doing this because my mother told him to." Salazar retorted. Rosalyn cocked her head. "What happened?"

"Well, after mom's surgery failed, Mr. Strange pulled me aside and told me she made him promise I'd be taken care of, and he showed me some papers that he was now my legal guardian." He explained, "Meh, I don't blame him for her death. If he couldn't save her, then nobody could've saved her. At least he adopted me as soon as possible. I bet it'll be better than getting stuck in the shitty foster system, so I'm just rolling with it."

"Okay, I guess. _Maingat ka, ha_?"

"Yes, I'll be careful, Rosalyn." Salazar rolled his eyes. At this point, he was probably fluent in Filipino from hanging around his girlfriend and her mother. "Anything you want me to bring you?"

"I don't know, his autograph?" The Filipino girl joked, "Just kidding. Good luck, okay? I love you."

The two lovers leaned in for one last kiss, then Salazar left, walking home to pack his things.

* * *

"Take a look around, kid." Said the doctor, "Your room is over there. I trust you can make your own food and get to school on your own?"

"Yes I can, Mr. Strange." Salazar answered.

"Good, because I won't be here most of the time. As a doctor, I've got lives to save, so don't expect me to be around often. Understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Strange."

"Thank you. You are now dismissed. Go unpack your things or whatever, I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait, I have a request." Salazar said. Stephen looked at the boy and asked, "What is it?"

"Can I have your autograph? My girlfriend looks up to you, she wants to be a doctor someday."

"Sure thing, kid." And so, Strange took out a notepad and signed a page. He took it and handed it to the teen, whose eyes lit up.

"Thank you, Mr. Strange."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

"Thanks again for the autograph, Salazar." Rosalyn said as she set down the tray of food. They were eating at a Filipino fast food chain called Jollibee, which they went to often ever since they were kids.

"Don't mention it, Rosalyn." Salazar replied as he took a sip of his Pepsi. He took his order from the tray, which consisted of two pieces of burger steak (a burger patty covered in gravy and topped with mushrooms) and some rice. "Honestly, I believe Mr. Strange himself is a good man, he's just really cold and aloof."

Rosalyn bit into her fried chicken. "Yup, that sounds like the Strange I've heard about. What's it like living with him?"

"He's usually not around and spends his time working shifts at the hospital. The few times he _is_ around consist of him sleeping and telling me to leave him be, but he has cooked food for me a couple of times."

"Interesting..." The Filipino girl mused, "Well, I hope you're alright. Are you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The American boy answered, "I've moved on from mom's passing and now I'm just going with whatever comes next."

"Well, I've a feeling something's gonna happen sooner or later." Rosalyn warned, "Call it intuition, I guess. I have a sense that you were entrusted to him for a reason."

"Eh, whatever." Salazar rolled his eyes. His girlfriend sometimes had a flair for the dramatic. "What could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

As it turns out, everything.

A few months later, in early November, Doctor Stephen Strange was caught in a horrific accident which damaged his hands.

"We found this, kid." The rescue team said as they handed Salazar a birthday card. Inside was a standard greeting handwritten by the doctor himself, and the boy found it sentimental that he remembered his birthday.

However, what were they going to do, now that Strange can't perform surgery anymore?

* * *

"We're going to Kamar-Taj." The former doctor said suddenly one day. His living quarters were now in a mess; what was once filled with luxury was now all gone as he sold it all off one by one to try and find a way to fix his hands.

Salazar looked up from the book he was reading. "Excuse me, what?"

"A man by the name of Pangborn told me about this one place where his spine managed to heal." Strange stated, "Pack your things, we're going to Kathmandu, Nepal."

"But why would you bring me along?" The boy asked, "Why do you still keep me around?"

The doctor looked like he was about to explode, but calmed down. "I made a promise to the only patient I let down; the only patient I failed to save. And on my honor as Doctor Stephen Strange, mark my words, I will keep that oath to my grave."

"Okay then." Salazar decided not to push further, for it seemed like a touchy subject for the man.

* * *

**That's all for now, I guess. The next chapter will focus on getting to Kamar-Taj and their introduction to magic. I hope this has been interesting so far!**

**This is Vanillite the Dragonslayer, signing off.**


	2. Chapter I: The Sanctuary of Sorcery

**Well, here we go! Chapter 1!**

**Disclaimer: Marvel belongs to DIDNEY WORL.**

* * *

Chapter I: The Sanctuary of Sorcery

"Teach me."

"No."

And thus, the doctor was kicked out of Kamar-Taj, where Salazar was waiting at the doorstep. "So, how'd it go?"

Exasperated, Strange explained what happened inside as he frantically pounded on the door.

"Your name is Stephen Strange, and you blew the only chance you had left of fixing your hands." The teen muttered, "Congratulations, you just played yourself."

Stephen just gave him a glare which said "stay out of this, kid" and continued his desperately determined door-banging delirium.

~Five Hours Later~

The door finally opened, causing the doctor to utter a grateful "thank you" as his ward entered with him.

"Uh, hello." Salazar stuttered out. In front of him were a bald person (he couldn't tell their gender) in yellow and a black man in dark green. "Um, I'm Salazar. Mr. Strange here is my legal guardian."

"He is taking care of a child? How unexpectedly charitable of him." The bald one said in a feminine voice. "Welcome to Kamar-Taj, Salazar. I am known as the Ancient One."

"Nice to meet you, I guess." Salazar said nervously, "So, now that Mr. Strange has been accepted into your magic school, what do I do now?"

"You can stay with us and train in the arcane arts," Suggested the Ancient One, "Or you may choose to go back to the life you left behind."

"I guess I'll stay here?" The boy answered, "It's not like I've anywhere else to go. Besides, studying magic sounds a lot better than the mess known as the American educational system."

"Very well." The ancient sorcerer replied. "Mordo, please show them to their room."

'Bunking with Mr. Strange, hoo boy.' Salazar rolled his eyes at the thought. Thankfully, there were two beds on opposite ends of the room, and Mordo handed Strange a small slip of paper with the word "shamballa" written on it.

"What's this, my mantra?" The doctor asked sarcastically.

"That's the wifi password." Mordo replied as he left to close the door behind him, "We're not savages."

* * *

"Hey Rosalyn" Salazar texted through Skype. For some reason, his girlfriend wasn't allowed to have or even use a cellphone, but literally any other device was okay for her to use.

"Oh hi Salazar" She replied, "Wer r u?"

"I'm with Mr. Strange somewhere in Nepal to cure his hands." The teen texted back, "Might not be in school for a while. ILY"

"ILY2" Rosalyn responded, and Salazar went to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Stephen and Salazar were sent to the library to study the basics of magic. This involved a crash course in the branches of magic. Salazar carefully read the book, which was thankfully in English, and as he read about the different branches of magic, he was utterly transfixed in wonder of all the mystical powers revealed before him.

_Abjuration magic consists of defensive spells, such as shields, barriers, banishments, and constraints. This branch of magic is mostly defensive in nature, although it can be used offensively by using barriers to push foes away or by banishing opponents._

_Conjuration magic consists of summoning creatures or objects from other dimensions and interdimensional transportation via magically-created passageways. This branch of magic is mostly offensive in nature, although some items and creatures summoned may serve defensive purposes._

_Divination magic consists of revealing information. This branch of magic may be used to predict and intercept attacks, or look into the past or future, or even reveal one's secrets._

_Enchantment magic consists of imbuing objects with magic. This branch of magic relies on knowledge of other branches to be applied onto the object, and can be used to create magical relics and artifacts._

_Evocation magic consists of manipulating energy, and coaxing matter to be manipulated through channeling that energy. This branch of magic can be used to create elemental effects and repair organic and inorganic matter. Evocation spells are easy to use but difficult to master, and as a result this branch is one of the most common branches of magic._

_Illusion magic consists of manipulating the senses. This branch of magic relies on tricking the opponent and changing how one perceives things. Due to how they work, illusion spells are often used for underhanded purposes._

_Necromancy consists of manipulating the forces of life and death. This branch of magic is strictly forbidden, for it tampers with the natural order. Despite its forbidden nature, evil sorcerers have used it to create undead minions and other vile abominations._

_Transmutation magic consists of manipulating matter directly. It differs from evocation by manipulating matter and only matter, and directly instead of indirectly through energy. Transmutation is often used to turn an object into something else, such as turning wood into stone or lead into gold._

"Hold up," Salazar suddenly said, "This is literally Dungeons and Dragons, isn't it?"

"What?" Strange asked, confused.

"Oh, sorry." The teen snarked. "I guess you were too busy reading medical textbooks when you were my age."

"Gygax was once a mighty sorcerer." The librarian, an Asian man by the name of Wong, chimed in. "However, he decided to share his gift with the world in a... different way, which has influenced a lot of fiction to this day."

Stephen stared at the man, dumbfounded. "So you're telling me this guy knows what that apparently meant, but doesn't know Beyoncé? You've got to be kidding me..." He muttered under his breath.

* * *

After a week of studying the fundamentals of sorcery, their first real lesson with the Ancient One began.

"You must look inside yourself and find the arcane energy within you." She explained, "Try casting a basic spell."

Strange went first, holding up a stick with one trembling hand and making a twisting gesture with the other one. The wood turned into copper as the Ancient One nodded.

"Very good. Now, how about you, Salazar?"

The teen focused before lifting his arm. A bolt of electricity materialized and zapped the stick, tinging Stephen all the way to his hair.

As the Ancient One nodded once more, she blew out the smoke coming from the doctor's hair with a smirk. Salazar couldn't help but smile at his guardian's plight.

"Hahaha, real funny, kid." Strange said sarcastically. "So, what do we do now?"

"The two of you shall continue practicing other spells." The Ancient One replied. "Good luck."

* * *

A few days later, the two of them were in the library, this time being lectured on the different dimensions of the multiverse by Wong.

"The multiverse is split into many different planes and dimensions." He explained, "Some, like the food dimension, are completely natural."

Wong showed the two of them an illusion of a landscape made of foodstuffs, with food-based creatures running about.

"Others," He continued, "Like the Null Void, were created, whether through magic or science, and on rare occasions, both." The illusion then shifted into a plane of floating rocks and plateaus, with an endless blood red sky filling the vast emptiness.

"Wait," Salazar raised his hand, "There's a food dimension?"

"Yes there is. We sorcerers often pull food and other things from it using conjuration magic."

As soon as Wong said that, Salazar scratched his chin in thought and asked, "Can you direct me to a book which teaches more about the food dimension?"

"Here you go," The librarian handed him a yellow book, "The Grimoire of Gorgonzola contains some basic knowledge of pastamancy and saucery. Pasta and sauce are two of the most basic foods to be conjured, with beans being a third."

"Thanks, Master Wong." The teen replied, and as Wong continued his lecture, the teen read up on how to conjure pasta and sauce from the food dimension, writing down notes and theorems alongside Strange as the session dragged on.

* * *

"So, have both of you mastered any conjuration spells yet?" The Ancient One asked. Salazar's response was to get a bowl and pull noodles from the food dimension, filling the bowl to the brim and handing it to her.

"What about you, Stephen?" She questioned the man. He took a step back and began to focus on pulling an object from another dimension...

...but he accidentally pulled a creature instead.

~One Battle Later~

"That was a Nihilego, a dangerous monster from the dimension known as Ultra Space." The bald master explained, "Nevertheless, I am impressed at your capabilities to harness the mystic arts. You are now both dismissed."

The two of them nodded and headed back to their room to rest for the night.

* * *

"Salazar, how are you doing?" The doctor asked out of the blue. The teen looked up from texting Rosalyn and mouthed a "fine".

"Do you miss New York?"

"Except for my girlfriend, not really." Salazar replied, "Although if I found a way to somehow go back to school by day and train in magic by night, I would do it."

"Why would you, though?"

"Well, I still want to become a scientist some day, and who knows? I might be able to blend magic and technology in pretty cool ways." The boy reasoned.

Strange nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. Good night, Salazar."

"Good night Mr. Strange." And with that, they both fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

**And that's the first chapter, everyone! The D&D conversation was based on a joke by some guy by the name of Pentigan. Meanwhile, the reason why Strange can use spells at this point is because I headcanon he picked up a couple of spells before his trial with the Sling Ring, because it ****wouldn't make sense for that to be one of the first things taught to beginners.**

**Also, the next chapter will be the aforementioned Sling Ring scene. Have fun!**

**This is Vanillite the Dragonslayer, signing off.**


	3. Chapter II: Thinking With Portals

**Chapter 2, in which we screw around with portals. Let's go!**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns Marvel.**

* * *

Chapter II: Thinking With Portals

Morning came and the two Americans went to the courtyard for a new lesson, this time on magical gestures. While they already learned a couple of spells, one needed to know the proper gestures to master the mystic arts.

After some martial exercises and a practice sigil-drawing session (which Stephen failed at), they were instructed by Mordo to put on magical rings known as Sling Rings which could create portals to anywhere in the multiverse.

Salazar focused and let the magic flow through him, and held out his left arm as he drew a clockwise circle with his right. He focused on what he knew of the food dimension and the portal fizzled into existence, creating a gateway to a plain of waffles next to a river flowing with chocolate.

Meanwhile, Strange failed to conjure his own portal, so he was led away by the Ancient One. After five minutes with no sign of either, Salazar decided to walk to where they went, only to find the Ancient One and Mordo standing in front of some empty space.

"Hey, where's Mr. Strange?" The teen asked. The Ancient One put her hand up in a "wait" gesture and said, "Wait for it..."

~Five Minutes Later~

A portal finally opened into Kamar-Taj, out of which stumbled one Doctor Stephen Strange. He was pulled to his feet by Salazar, who immediately cast a warming spell to get rid of the doctor's hypothermia.

"Thanks, kid." Strange managed to say before he collapsed onto the floor. Salazar rolled his eyes before he suddenly realized something. "Wait, calculating the timezone differences, I can actually go to school in the evening and return by late night, and sleep until 9 or 10 AM!"

"But do you _want_ to?" The Ancient One asked, "As you yourself said before, studying the mystic arts would be way less boring than American academics."

"Well actually, I miss my girlfriend Rosalyn." Salazar explained, "Besides, if I manage to finish schooling and get a degree in a field of science, I might figure out how to combine magic and technology!"

The old master thought about it for a moment before she nodded. "I suppose that is an intriguing cause. Very well, you may go to school during nighttime and continue your training in sorcery by the day. I'll allow for your training schedule to be shifted to be in line with your schooling and sleeping schedules."

"Thank you." The teen replied as he politely bowed, "Now all we gotta do is wait for Mr. Strange to wake up so he can write an excuse letter."

* * *

That evening, with excuse letter in hand, Salazar grabbed his Sling Ring and conjured a portal to Midtown School of Science and Technology, in a remote clearing where he and Rosalyn often met in-between classes. Putting on his school bag, he ran into the portal...

...and screeched to a halt on the other side, where Rosalyn sat on the ground with a shocked look on her face as she almost dropped her hotdog.

"Salazar?" She asked, "How'd you make that portal?"

"Hoo boy, I've got a loooooooooooooooooot of explaining to do." Salazar muttered as he began to explain very quickly. "Well, you see, Mr. Strange went to this place in Nepal to fix his hands, but that turned out to be a school for magic and apparently we're wizards now. Got all that?"

"Yeah right, and I'm a demigod!" Rosalyn replied as she laughed.

"So you don't believe me?" Her boyfriend asked.

"No no no, I believe you, and I'm actually a demigod." She responded.

"Well, I suppose I'm willing to suspend my disbelief a little more after all the weird-ass shit I've seen, so I guess I'll believe you for now."

"Aww, thanks for that, Salazar!" His girlfriend cooed as she gave him a headpat.

"Whoa whoa whoa," He said as he held his hands up like Kuzco from that one Disney movie with the llamas. "No headpats, please."

"But my cousin Matthew likes 'em! Won't you do the same for me, my love?" She said as she batted her eyelashes and gave him a wink.

"Ugh, fine." Salazar grumbled as he allowed his girlfriend to give him a headpat once more. "Anyway, I'm gonna go to school by night and study magic by day. If I can find the time, maybe we can go on a date soon."

"That sounds great!" Rosalyn said. "Anyway, we should really head to class."

"Yeah, let's go!"

* * *

As the school days came and went, Salazar and Stephen continued to study under the tutelage of the Ancient One. One night, Salazar returned to a completely still doctor on his bed, with a book plastered in front of his face.

The teen tried to take the book, but as soon as he touched it, a wispy projection of Strange appeared in front of him, taking him by surprise as he said, "I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

"Whoa, Mr. Strange. What's going on?" The startled boy asked.

"This is my astral form." The doctor explained, "I'm using astral projection to study magic while my physical body rests."

"Cool!" Salazar said in wonder, "Can you teach me how to do that? I'm sure it'll help to not having to juggle magic lessons with things to study from school."

"Sure thing, kid." Stephen replied, "Just give me a moment..." Then the projection dissolved and the doctor woke up a few seconds later, the book still on his face.

"Now, you gotta meditate for a bit first and relax your soul..."

* * *

After he mastered astral projection, Salazar's progress in both the mystical and academic fields of study skyrocketed, up to the point where he (alongside his guardian) was allowed access to the deepest part of the library in the beginning of April.

On April 4, 2015, Salazar entered the library and picked up a random chained book. He flipped to a random page which contained a sketch of an eye-shaped artifact. The teen looked in front of him and saw that very same artifact on a pedestal, unguarded and unprotected. Salazar knew what he was going to do next.

But first...

"Wong?" He called out, "Mr. Strange?"

After receiving no response, Salazar grabbed what he learned from the book was known as the Eye of Agamotto, and wore the amulet around his neck. Once more, he knew what he was going to do: Look into the past, and see what was his mother's life like before his father died before he was even born.

Salazar opened the Eye and drew some glyphs using it. Green numbers then floated upwards, and the teen focused on New York City as he scrolled the numbers to go fifteen years back. As soon as he did that, however, he saw a silver light before receiving a vision.

A humanoid shape molding some formless thing into the form of a baby. A few drops of golden blood, and a baby's cry. Conflicting cries of "It's a boy! What do I do?" and "It's a girl! Thank the gods..." rang out, alongside a calendar constantly shifting between April 4, 2003 and April 4, 2000.

Apparently, he saw something he was not meant to see, for that definitely wasn't his mother nor his father.

"...it!"

"...of it!"

"...out of it!"

"...snap out of it!"

"Hey, snap out of it!" Three voices rang out all at once, snapping the teen out of his vision as he staggered backwards. Turning around, Salazar came face-to-face with the Ancient One, Mordo, and Wong.

"Tampering with time is strictly forbidden!" Mordo cried out, "Do you realize what you could have done?!"

"Did you even read the warnings?" Wong asked, his anger more subdued than that of Mordo's.

"Warnings? Didn't see 'em." Salazar muttered, causing the adult men to curse.

"Hold on," The Ancient One said, "I sense that the consequences of his actions have turned up already."

"What do you mean?" Asked the other three sorcerers all at once.

"A being from another timeline has been pulled into ours. Salazar must deal with this intrusion alone as punishment." She explained, "I shall conjure a portal for you to get to where that being is. However, once you go through, you may not receive any help from us until you come back. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Salazar said solemnly as he nodded. "Just make the portal already so I can deal with the problem, please."

The Ancient One relented as she conjured the portal, which seemed to lead to some sort of forest. Salazar sighed and went through, and as it closed behind him he cursed his luck. "Damn it, what did I just get myself into..."

* * *

**April 4, 2015**

**?**

**? POV**

It was another morning waking up in my cabin. However, today seemed different, like someone was on top of me. I could feel a warmth between my legs, a couple of pillows on my chest, and lips pressed against mine.

I woke up to a strange sight. As my eyes fluttered open, a beautiful girl with silver hair opened her eyes simultaneously, her silver orbs peering from behind her purple glasses into my purple glasses.

We both screamed at the same time.

* * *

**Oh boy, looks like Salazar's in trouble now! Who may be the one whose POV is at the end of the chapter? Who's the girl on top of him? I'll give you a clue, he was mentioned in this very chapter! Muahahahaha, have fun! I'll answer it in the next chapter!**

**This is Vanillite the Dragonslayer, signing off.**


	4. Chapter IIx: The Half-Blood Kids

**Sidequest time! Chapter 2x, here we go! Time for something completely different!**

**Disclaimer: DIDNEY WORL**

* * *

Chapter IIx: The Sorcerer and the Half-Blood Kids

**Matthew**

Hi, if you don't know me, I'm Matthew, the one and only son of the goddess Artemis. Now, it's a long story as to how in the world that happened, but needless to say, I'm kinda happy with my life right now.

Today, April 4, is my birthday. Strangely, I woke up to kissing a beautiful girl who was right on top of me. As we both screamed, we asked at the same time, "Who are you?!"

This new person looked like the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Her messy silver hair was tied up in a ponytail, her silver eyes staring me down, with an outfit similar to mine, save for the fact that instead of pants she was wearing a violet double slit maxi skirt with violet leggings underneath, outlining her long shapely legs. Wait a minute... She was basically a female equivalent of me!

"I'm Matthew/Melina, the only son/daughter of the goddess Artemis, and this is my cabin!" We both said simultaneously.

"Wait..." We asked again, "How old are you?"

"I'm turning twelve/fifteen today, April 4, 2015."

"Neat, you're three years older/younger than me!"

"Wait..." I said, "How do you even exist?"

"I think we're from parallel timelines." Melina answered. "So either you're in my timeline, or I'm in your timeline."

"Hmm, what do..." I started.

"...we do now?" She finished.

Then we locked silver eyes and noticed we both had the same mischievous glint.

"Wanna kiss?" I asked meekly.

"Sure, why not?" She responded, and gave me a peck on the lips.

"Huh, kissing myself feels nice." We both said at the same time again. "I know, right?"

"What else can we do?" I told her, to which she smirked. "Wanna do a musical number?"

~One Song Later~

"...coming at you, Fridays!" I finished.

"What- What's that, are we doing a TV show together?" Melina asked, confused.

"Oh no. It just sort of sounded like it." I joked.

"Hahaha, you're really adorable, me!" She said and gave me a headpat.

"Thanks for the headpat, Meli." I said, "Wait, can I call you Meli?"

"Sure thing, Matt!" She replied and gave me another headpat. "You're really cute."

"Say, wanna do another musical number?" I suggested. She nodded and we both broke out into song once more.

~Another Song Later~

"Love is an open door..." We finished as we put our hands together in the shape of a heart.

"Can I say something crazy?" I started to say, "Wanna have a pillow fight?"

"Can I say something crazier?" Melina retorted, "Yes!"

And so we had a pillow fight.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

While the young boy and his female counterpart were living it up in their cabin, Salazar trudged through the forest, fighting off creatures such as a sentient life-draining candle and a sentient ice cream cone.

"Damn it, where the heck am I?" He muttered, "Hey look, some buildings!"

Due to the fact that he still had the Eye of Agamotto, he had a general idea of where he was supposed to go, as the Eye shot a beam of green light to guide his way to the temporal anomaly. Making his way out of the woods, he followed the beam to a silver cabin with an 8 on the door. He knocked on the door three times and heard two voices say "Coming!"

Salazar heard the shuffling of clothes and the scrambling of feet. As the door opened, he was greeted by two identically dressed teens in disheveled violet clothes who even had matching hair and eye colors (silver) and accessories such as hats and glasses. They were sweaty and the boy of the two even had milk on his lips.

"Um, excuse me, I believe you may be housing a temporal anomaly." The sorcery-studying teen said, "I did a thing with this amulet over here and it accidentally brought over a being from another timeline."

The boy in front of him blinked before the girl whispered in his ear. He blushed and wiped his mouth. "Um... yeah. Either I'm in her timeline, or she's in mine." The Eye's beam pointed to the girl. "Well, I guess she's in mine."

"Hate to break it to you, but she'll be going with me." Salazar explained. "I've got to find a way to return her to where she came from."

"No way!" The violet twins said at the same time as their hands charged up with frost. The boy seemed to have a left arm made out of some sort of dark crystalline material.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" The sorcerer said in response to their actions. "Take this!"

Salazar charged up his hand and shot a ray of electricity at the boy. He dodged and shot back with a ball of frost. The girl snuck up behind him and pulled out her sword, a saber made of silver. She slashed at him, but he quickly evaded and conjured some meatballs and pelted them with the stuff.

"Huh, you know food magic?" The boy asked, "Well, two can play at that game!" The young mage in violet then threw his left hand forward and shot a stream of chocolate sauce at Salazar, who intercepted it with a ray of frost.

"Wait, why are we even fighting?" Salazar deadpanned. "We should settle this like grown-ups!"

"I'll get the table!" The silver-haired kids said simultaneously. They went inside their cabin and brought out a table made of plastic and some chairs.

* * *

"So, let us introduce ourselves." The silver-haired boy started, "I'm Matthew, son of the goddess Artemis, and this is Melina, my female counterpart from another timeline."

"Wait, your name is Matthew?" Salazar questioned.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well, I remembered my girlfriend Rosalyn saying she had a cousin named Matthew."

"Wait a minute, are you Salazar?" Matthew asked, "Rosalyn's boyfriend who she won't stop gushing about?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Hold on a moment." Matthew then zipped away and came back a few minutes later with a wide-eyed Rosalyn.

"How'd you get here, Salzy?" She asked, "Mortals aren't supposed to be here!"

"Portals, remember?" Salazar rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we gotta settle some shit because I accidentally pulled Melina from her timeline."

"So how do I go back?" Melina wondered.

"Good question." The sorcerer replied, "Due to how this artifact works, I'd assume the timeline only existed for a few moments during my trance using the Eye of Agamotto here and went crunch as soon as Melina was pulled out of it around the same time I snapped out of the trance. So I guess you're stuck here."

"Well, that's fine by me." Matthew and Melina said at the same time. Melina stroked Matthew's hair and said, "This experience has been quite enlightening. I used to not love myself, but when I met Matthew, something just clicked within me. Although I still don't love myself directly, I now do it indirectly by loving him. I'm sure he feels the same way about me."

"You're absolutely right, me!" Matthew responded, and pecked Melina on the cheek, which made both of them turn the same shade of red.

"So, are we all clear now?" Salazar asked. The three demigods nodded. "Good. I'll be taking my leave. Bye, my love."

"Bye, Salzy!" Rosalyn said and gave him a kiss before he conjured a portal to go back to Kamar-Taj.

* * *

"So, how did it go?" The Ancient One asked her student.

"It went well." Salazar replied, "The temporal anomaly has decided to stay with her counterpart here, since-"

"-her timeline only existed momentarily." She finished. Salazar stared at her. "Yes, I knew that already." The Ancient One said.

"Then why send me to deal with them?"

"I was just making sure there would be no harm in letting her stay with her counterpart." She explained, "Speaking of which, how did they act around each other?"

"Very lovingly. Not really romantic love, but some sort of self-love yet also a feeling that she would take care of him." Salazar replied, not sure how to describe the concept in words. Even as he spoke, he was still utterly confused as to how Matthew and Melina's relationship worked.

"That sounds strangely sweet." The old mystic commented. "Anyway, you must hand over the Eye of Agamotto. Best not to let a mere child handle an Infinity Stone."

"Infinity Stone? What do you mean?" Salazar questioned.

The Ancient One sighed and began a lecture. "You see, the six Infinity Stones..."

* * *

**Sidequest complete. Sorry for the weirdness and the shortness of it, but I'm feeling very, very tired. Oh well. Also, I have a Vanillite plushie now! It's really cute!**

**This is Vanillite the Dragonslayer, signing off.**


	5. Chapter III: The Danger of Food Monsters

**And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Sorry for the lack of updates, I had writer's block.**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns Marvel, too bad they don't have a stake in Spidey's films anymore. :(**

* * *

Chapter III: The Dangers of the Food Dimension

After Salazar dealt with the demigods, he went to sleep.

Seriously, remember that it was already night time when he was screwing around with the Eye of Agamotto.

Wait... Actually before he slept, the Ancient One taught him about the Infinity Stones.

The thought of the all-powerful Sorcerer Supreme teaching one of her students about the Infinity Stones as if it were a bedtime story as a former neurosurgeon sits nearby in his bed and rolls his eyes at them is hilarious.

Anyway, the next day came and Salazar was studying about the food dimension. He learned that there were various creatures such as a spiders made of giant cheeseburgers and constructs made of chocolate, along with strawberry serpents and peanut butter jellyfishes.

"Hold up," Salazar said to Wong, "Why the heck are there really ridiculous creatures inhabiting the food dimension?"

"To this day, we sorcerers do not know." Wong answered, "However, we speculate that they were either created by or alongside the primordial food god known as F'thu Chyn'nye."

"F'thu Chyn'nye? You've got to be kidding me." The teen rolled his eyes. "What kind of a name is F'thu Chyn'nye?"

"One of great terror." The man replied, "F'thu Chyn'nye is known to destroy and sometimes eat worlds. It's up there with the being known as Dormammu and the beast known as Necrozma in terms of power. Speaking of which, Necrozma was vanquished once and for all a few months ago."

Wong projected an illusion of a creature made of black crystal. "Normally, it would look like this, but upon assimilating either the god Solgaleo or the goddess Lunala..." The image shifted to a majestic dragon of light. "It assumes its true form, also known as Ultra Necrozma. Necrozma is a very powerful beast, with titles such as the Light-Eater, Master of Darkness, and Bringer of Doom."

"Despite its tremendous power after assimilating Solgaleo, a band of five heroes and the goddess Lunala managed to stop it and shatter Necrozma to pieces." Wong concluded. "And yet, there still remain multiple threats to our world. Although Necrozma's plan to eat up the multiverse's light and cover everything in eternal darkness failed, Dormammu still lurks, waiting for a chance to invade our dimension. F'thu Chyn'nye is also a threat, but considering he has been sealed for quite some time now, we should probably be safe from attacks coming from the food dimension."

Suddenly, a sorcerer ran up to them and said, "Master Wong, Kamar-Taj is under attack!"

"By who or what?" Wong asked. The random sorcerer panted and gasped. "Portals to the food dimension opened all of a sudden! Food monsters are streaming out and attacking us!"

"This is bad..." The man mused, "How could those portals get past all the wards against unauthorized portal conjuration?"

"We don't know, sir." Responded the sorcerer. Wong dismissed him, turned to Salazar, and sighed. "Well, I suppose it's time for you to be exposed to combat. This would be more of a practical lesson than anything."

"What are we waiting for?" Salazar asked, "Let's go!"

* * *

Things were not going well in Kamar-Taj.

Portals to the food dimension were everywhere, sorcerers left and right were fighting food monsters, and the courtyard was inexplicably on fire.

It looked like everyone used to live in perfect harmony, but everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Or should it be "but everything changed when the food dimension attacked"?

Anyway, Wong was debriefing Salazar on the food monsters' weaknesses and resistances, as any good tutorial should. "Chocolate constructs are weak to fire, but resist cold. Strawberry serpents are weak to cold but resist electricity. Cheesespiders are weak to both cold and fire and also resist electricity. Peanut butter jellyfishes resist all three. That should cover the common monsters from the food dimension."

Salazar got to work and fought his way across the battlefield. He first faced off against a chocolate construct and melted it into a pile of chocolatey goo. Next, he froze a strawberry serpent in a chunk of ice, then fired a few magic missiles at a peanut butter jellyfish floating around. He also saw some slimy cubes of jelly hopping around 10 centimeters in length and 1 liter in volume, and fried them with electricity. A cream-colored slime latched onto his leg, which he shook off and crushed under his shoe. It gave off a smell that he recognized as durian, and Salazar recalled how his girlfriend would gush about the fruit and wondered why she would like something so putrid.

He continued to turn monsters into toast (not literally) left and right and suddenly bumped into a giant spider made out of a cheeseburger with fries for legs. This was a cheesespider, and it's probably delicious if you took a bite out of it. Anyway, Salazar got a bit surprised by it before jumping back as it snapped its cheesy jaws. He retaliated by tossing a fireball at it and following it up with a blast of frost. The cheesespider scuttled up close and screeched, stunning the teen as it moved in to bite. However, before he could be bitten, a blast of magic hit it in the back and it fell over, dead.

"Kid, are you alright?" Asked Strange, who was the sender of the blast. Salazar panted before he gave the former doctor a thumbs-up. "Good. Try to keep yourself alive, okay?" As Salazar nodded, Strange went off to help some more in the ongoing battle.

The fight went on for quite some time before the sorcerers were able to defeat all the food monsters and forcibly close the portals. At the end of it all, they did a headcount and concluded that there were zero killed and twenty-five injured. Salazar, Strange, Wong, and Mordo went around to assist in healing those hurt in the battle, and the fire was quenched by the Ancient One, who cast a rainstorm over the courtyard.

After healing the injured, the Ancient One called for a meeting, leaving Salazar and the doctor confused.

"What's going on?" Salazar asked, "Where did those portals come from?"

"Something terrible has happened." Mordo replied solemnly.

"And that something is?" Strange questioned, and Mordo sighed. "F'thu Chyn'nye has been unsealed."

* * *

**The plot thickens like Selecta super thick ice cream! Seriously though, Magnolia ice cream is way better and softer. Mmm, delicious...**

**Anyway, F'thu Chyn'nye is from a game titled Galaxy of Pen and Paper, and I thank the devs over at Behold Studios for allowing me to use him. You'll see what he looks like soon!**

**This is Vanillite the Dragonslayer, signing off.**


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